The role of software developers is changing. Not gradually, not theoretically. But right now. And it’s happening faster than most of us expected.

For years, our value was in writing code. Understanding syntax, knowing the quirks of languages and frameworks, translating requirements into working software. That’s shifting. The value is moving from writing syntax to guiding systems: understanding what to build, evaluating whether AI got it right and knowing when it didn’t.

We’re becoming architects and reviewers. The code still needs human judgment. Just less human keystrokes.

This reminds me of the Industrial Revolution. People dismissed early machines as inferior to skilled craftsmen. They were right. Until suddenly they weren’t. The transition happened faster than anyone anticipated.

Ryan Dahl, creator of Node.js, declared this week that “the era of humans writing code is over.” I think he’s right about the direction, just not about the timing. We’re not at the end of this transition, but we’re accelerating through it.

Developers aren’t becoming obsolete. But if you haven’t embraced AI as part of your workflow yet, now is the time. Not next year. Now.